Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois | DAZN PPV - 9 May 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

Wardley is no monster, Dubois has faced bigger punchers, says coach

WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley may have a knockout percentage above 95 but he is not the hardest puncher Daniel Dubois has faced.

That is the opinion of Dubois’ trainer Don Charles ahead of the heavyweight shootout in Manchester on May 9.

Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) holds a higher percentage than any active champion and is yet to face a man he could not drop.

When he was finally taken the distance by Frazer Clarke in March 2024, Wardley knocked his British opponent out after 2:28 of the rematch six months later.

It is a record which has marked him as one of the division’s most dangerous men but Charles is not so impressed.
“For me he’s not even the biggest puncher Daniel has faced,” Charles told The Ring.

“His knockout percentage is the same as Daniel’s at around 95 per cent but Wardley’s is against lesser opposition, with all due respect.

“The only opposition that really compares is Joseph Parker and he finished the fight on his feet. He got stopped but he wasn’t knocked out.”

The clash at Co-op Live Arena will be Dubois’ first outing since he was dropped and stopped by Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium in July.

It was his second defeat to the all-time great Ukrainian, but before that he had racked up a three-fight winning streak that Charles believes eclipses anything that Wardley has put together.

He added: “You have to look at opposition. Daniel did three in a row; Jarrell Miller, unbeaten, Filip Hrgovic, unbeaten, Anthony Joshua, a proven two-time world heavyweight champion.

“We are not an ignorant team but what beats people before you even start is making the opposition out to be a monster. I don’t see a monster when I look at Fabio, I see a very determined, gritty fighter with a remarkable story.

"I respect all that but he’s no Usyk and he’s not a match for my boy. If we are going to a gun fight, I know who’s going to come out victorious.

“The public are writing Daniel off, they’re dismissing what he’s already done and suddenly Fabio is this monster but we know he’s not.”

All three of Dubois’ defeats have come inside the distance but Charles is adamant none have had any lasting effect ahead of the predicted “gun fight” in Manchester, which has been billed ‘Don’t Blink’ by Queensberry Promotions.

“It’s the same guy,” Charles said of Dubois.

“There is such a thing in boxing as getting caught with a punch that put us away. You’re not going to change everything about you because you got stopped in a boxing match. You have to recognize what was I doing when I took that punch and just before?

“You ask if what you normally do works for you and the answer is yes. We just have to make sure we keep our discipline and try and rectify the errors that were made in the last fight. We will look at those area, what did we do wrong? And what did we do right?

“This is my profession. We were doing a lot right prior to the Usyk fight so we have to focus on the positives more, recognize the errors that we made and rectify them.”

[paultom]

Wardley is no monster, Dubois has faced bigger punchers, says coach

WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley may have a knockout percentage above 95 but he is not the hardest puncher Daniel Dubois has faced.

That is the opinion of Dubois’ trainer Don Charles ahead of the heavyweight shootout in Manchester on May 9.

Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) holds a higher percentage than any active champion and is yet to face a man he could not drop.

When he was finally taken the distance by Frazer Clarke in March 2024, Wardley knocked his British opponent out after 2:28 of the rematch six months later.

It is a record which has marked him as one of the division’s most dangerous men but Charles is not so impressed.
“For me he’s not even the biggest puncher Daniel has faced,” Charles told The Ring.

“His knockout percentage is the same as Daniel’s at around 95 per cent but Wardley’s is against lesser opposition, with all due respect.

“The only opposition that really compares is Joseph Parker and he finished the fight on his feet. He got stopped but he wasn’t knocked out.”

The clash at Co-op Live Arena will be Dubois’ first outing since he was dropped and stopped by Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium in July.

It was his second defeat to the all-time great Ukrainian, but before that he had racked up a three-fight winning streak that Charles believes eclipses anything that Wardley has put together.

He added: “You have to look at opposition. Daniel did three in a row; Jarrell Miller, unbeaten, Filip Hrgovic, unbeaten, Anthony Joshua, a proven two-time world heavyweight champion.

“We are not an ignorant team but what beats people before you even start is making the opposition out to be a monster. I don’t see a monster when I look at Fabio, I see a very determined, gritty fighter with a remarkable story.

"I respect all that but he’s no Usyk and he’s not a match for my boy. If we are going to a gun fight, I know who’s going to come out victorious.

“The public are writing Daniel off, they’re dismissing what he’s already done and suddenly Fabio is this monster but we know he’s not.”

All three of Dubois’ defeats have come inside the distance but Charles is adamant none have had any lasting effect ahead of the predicted “gun fight” in Manchester, which has been billed ‘Don’t Blink’ by Queensberry Promotions.

“It’s the same guy,” Charles said of Dubois.

“There is such a thing in boxing as getting caught with a punch that put us away. You’re not going to change everything about you because you got stopped in a boxing match. You have to recognize what was I doing when I took that punch and just before?

“You ask if what you normally do works for you and the answer is yes. We just have to make sure we keep our discipline and try and rectify the errors that were made in the last fight. We will look at those area, what did we do wrong? And what did we do right?

“This is my profession. We were doing a lot right prior to the Usyk fight so we have to focus on the positives more, recognize the errors that we made and rectify them.”

Parker ? Dubois bottled that one, and he conveniently forgets Lerena bouncing him up and down. Because Parker was stopped on his feet, it doesn't count ? you could argue Miller and Hrgovic didn't go down either so they don't count as much as a ko. Miller had beaten nobody and Hrgovic had only scraped a win against Big Bang

[tony1234]

Fight Week!!

Looking forward to this, I wonder if Dubois may fold early or maybe he boxes Wardley's ears off ? Decent scrap and I'll be buying it. Wish there was a good DAZN offer to subscribe but I'm not paying for Ultimate at 250 quid

[MightyWarrior]

Fabio’s chin seems good, but we’re not really going know how good it is, until DD hits him, because he’s by far the hardest puncher fabs ever faced

[tony1234]

Fab’s chin seems good, but we’re not really going know how good until DD hits him, because he’s by far the hardest puncher fabs ever faced

That's what makes it so interesting, even the bookies can't split them. Nice to have such a 50/50 match up

[Cyclops]

“We are not an ignorant team"

We've seen his team in the build-up to the Usyk rematch. There's plenty of words that I could use to describe their behaviour then and ignorant would definitely be one of them.

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Classy guys.

[paultom]

“We are not an ignorant team"

We've seen his team in the build-up to the Usyk rematch. There's plenty of words that I could use to describe their behaviour then and ignorant would definitely be one of them.

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Classy guys.

Yes he did threaten that, Usyk was unfazed by it, they are clowns and I hope Wardley flattens him

[Taansend]

Is anyone here ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of a winner?

And if you are, who, why & how?

I genuinely have no idea.

[Taansend]

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Given your username I can see why you'd have an issue with that

[paultom]

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Given your username I can see why you'd have an issue with that

[SeanBrennan]

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Given your username I can see why you'd have an issue with that

Comment of the week that

[SeanBrennan]

“We are not an ignorant team"

We've seen his team in the build-up to the Usyk rematch. There's plenty of words that I could use to describe their behaviour then and ignorant would definitely be one of them.

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Classy guys.

Yes he did threaten that, Usyk was unfazed by it, they are clowns and I hope Wardley flattens him

What made it funny is that Don’s son lost to Sokolowski and never fought again.

[paultom]

We've seen his team in the build-up to the Usyk rematch. There's plenty of words that I could use to describe their behaviour then and ignorant would definitely be one of them.

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Classy guys.

Yes he did threaten that, Usyk was unfazed by it, they are clowns and I hope Wardley flattens him

What made it funny is that Don’s son lost to Sokolowski and never fought again.

George 'the future' Fox, how ironic

[SeanBrennan]

Very ironic! And he’s no road man he’s university educated I don’t know why Adeleye etc try to pretend they’re from the streets it’s just silly.

[dookus]

Wasn't Don's son telling Usyk he'd pull out his eyeballs in a street fight or something like that?

Given your username I can see why you'd have an issue with that

[Deserter]

Is anyone here ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of a winner?

And if you are, who, why & how?

I genuinely have no idea.

Not absolutely certain (it's heavyweight boxing after all), but I do think Dubois' jab is going to cause all sorts of problems for Wardley and I'm expecting Dubais to win by stoppage pretty comfortably.
I think the Parker result flatters to deceive and Huni and Clarke 1 showcased Wardley's technical shortcomings which will cost him here.
However, would love to be proven wrong as think Wardley has a brilliant attitude.

[gilgamesh]

Is anyone here ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of a winner?

And if you are, who, why & how?

I genuinely have no idea.

Definitely not. I'm going for Wardley by KO, but the only thing that would surprise me is if this fight was somehow boring, that's the only thing I can't imagine. A KO for either man is not difficult to imagine at all.

[keithmoonhangover]

Is anyone here ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of a winner?

And if you are, who, why & how?

I genuinely have no idea.

DDD. Beatdown. Stoppage.

[dbf]

I don’t Dubois ducked Parker he was on a great run of form and it was a huge payday from what Warren said. Shane McGuigan corroborated what Dubois’s team were saying about the illness as it happened to Dan when under Shane.

As for this fight, Wardley is dangerous throughout and has got quite quick hands but Dubois is a good boxer and can set up his shots. I think Dan really struggled with Usyk because mentally he just couldn’t figure out what was going on - he looks way better against conventional fighters. I think his jab is key in this fight and I think his power is going to hurt and ultimately stop Wardley. Fabio will be swinging to the end though. Great fight and got to give credit to them both and Warren for putting it on.

[MightyWarrior]

Two big hitting heavy weights, so anything is possible, but I like DD to shock Fabio early and maybe not let him off the hook.

[Ruthless-RKO]

High contrast: Fabio Wardley expects rivalry with Daniel Dubois to finally favour him

Fabio Wardley has revealed that Daniel Dubois used to “punch him up” when they sparred as younger men.

Wardley on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England makes the first defence of his reign as WBO heavyweight champion against Dubois, and while very aware of the very different paths they have pursued.

Dubois, 28, was groomed for greatness as a heavy-handed young professional widely recognised as potentially one of the world’s most exciting heavyweights.

Wardley, in contrast, in many respects looked up to Dubois despite being three years his senior, and because as a former white-collar boxer his progress as a professional was expected to be limited and slow.

Dubois stopped Anthony Joshua in an IBF heavyweight title fight a month before Wardley fought and beat Frazer Clarke – who he had previously drawn with – for the British and Commonwealth titles, and on an evening in October 2024 on which numerous observers of their entertaining first fight had predicted that he would lose.

However Wardley, on account of the heart that means he has recovered from losing positions to record impressive stoppages of Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, has surpassed all previous expectations to emerge as one of the world’s leading heavyweights and in many respects to overtake Dubois, whose leading critics continue to question the heart that they believed was lacking in two defeats by Oleksandr Usyk and another by Joe Joyce.

It is perhaps that knowledge of his ability to survive losing positions – in addition to his quiet confidence and the humility that has contributed so much to the way Wardley consistently improves – that makes him so willing to be open about sparring sessions that might intimidate others, but Wardley in so many respects remains an individual and a fighter unto himself.

“I don’t even know if I was pro by then,” Wardley said. “It was seven or eight years [ago], something like that and either I was or had just started. Maybe I’d had my first fight or second fight.

“I have got no qualms in saying he punched me up but I would beg him not to take anything from that spar and carry that through to now because that was a guy who [just] laced up a pair of gloves whereas he had an amateur career; junior champion; GB champion, this and all the others and I put on the gloves a few weeks ago and thought ‘Yeah let’s have a move around with Daniel Dubois’.

“I wasn’t nervous. I knew it would be a tough spar but I always kind of relished it and challenged it because it was minor incremental [improvements] that I would get a bit better. I would come out of sparring and, ‘Cor I only got punched up 15 times but that was two less than last week’, and it was fine. I didn’t care and wasn’t like score-keeping and thinking I had to win.

“I went into it knowing, ‘Currently you are better than me and I’ve got no problem with that; I’m trying to get better and the only way to do that is to compete with people better than me’. There is no point me staying in my little old white-collar gym and smashing up Steve who comes in every other week and thinking I am the man. For me, at that stage of my career, my mentality was get around, spar everyone as much as possible, and gain as much experience as you can.

“He was even more introverted back then.

“He was definitely up there as one of the big punchers I was in with, but there were a lot I was sharing the ring with at that time. There was [Derek] Chisora; there was Dillian Whyte; there was him; there was Filip Hrgovic. It wasn’t like he was a stand-out, it was just known that he was pretty solid and could whack a bit. There was even cruiserweights – I remember sparring Richard Riakporhe, he could whack and I remember him crack me as well and I was thinking, ‘Jesus, some of these boys can proper hit’, but again, that was seven or eight years ago. It was probably, some of it, due to how green I was – me taking shots and not even moving, taking it straight to the dome and that would rack my brain a bit.”

For every way in which Wardley’s relative rawness makes him unpredictable in the ring, Dubois continues to prove unpredictable outside of it. Defeat in his most recent contest, the rematch with Usyk in July 2025, came after he inexplicably was present at a house party earlier that day. It was then followed by him separating from Don Charles, the trainer who had led him to the impressive victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Joshua that transformed his career, recruiting the experienced Tony Sims, and then months later splitting with Sims before having a single fight under him and rehiring Charles to prepare him for Saturday’s fight.

That Dubois had previously entered dates under Martin Bowers and Shane McGuigan is also in contrast to Wardley’s loyalty to Robert Hodgins, who he first worked with as a white-collar boxer and whose expertise he complemented, instead of replaced, as a professional with Ben Davison. It is, to Wardley’s mind, a character flaw that is perhaps holding Dubois back.

“It seems unsettled and doesn’t seem like the best course of action,” Wardley said. “And also seems to me that whether it is him or we know the story about his dad [Dave] and how much control he has, etcetera, etcetera, but it also seems to me like a lack of accountability. That whenever there is a fight or whenever you lose or something goes wrong, you immediately blame the trainer and leave that trainer and find another one. Maybe it is you. Maybe you didn’t listen, or you didn’t train or you didn’t do something. I think the default to look outward and blame someone is quite telling.

“Obviously it makes no odds to me. One trainer, two trainers or no trainer, I couldn’t care. For me with Daniel, and he is good don’t get me wrong – very good – but with all of these different trainers, he hasn’t really changed. Stylistically he hasn’t changed; the way he approaches things hasn’t really changed, he might have some different little things, but there’s been no overhaul or difference at all. So, it’s not like there’s a new trainer and I’m going to get there on the night and be like, ‘fornicating hell, who is this? This is a whole new Daniel Dubois’. It’s not going to be like that at all. He is who he is and he fights how he fights. They will tweak little bits along the way, but I don’t think a change of trainer has a massive effect on him like it does for some people.”

Wardley responded to narrowly being outboxed by Clarke in March 2024 to stop him inside a round in their rematch. He was convincingly outboxed by Huni when he dramatically and explosively stopped the Australian in the 10th, and also losing to Parker when he similarly dramatically stopped him in the 11th as recently as October.

There is, objectively, a considerable contrast with the defeats suffered by Dubois, who was horrifically injured against Joyce but twice against Usyk appeared capable of carrying on, and it is that streak – one absent in difficult contests against Miller and Hrgovic – that Wardley believes represents the greatest contrast between them, even while aware of how articulate he is and while describing the rival who turned professional on April 8, 2017, the same day as him, as an “introvert”. It, regardless, may yet prove relevant that their sparring sessions went as they once did; Dubois was full of confidence as the significant underdog against the decorated Joshua at a time when suggestions persisted that he had once hurt Joshua as a young man while they sparred.

“I guess that’s quite on the nose,” Wardley said. “That is the contrast. If it is not going his way, he nosedives and if it is not going my way, I stay the course, I stay focused and stay on track and I think that is evidence in the difference in our mentality.

“It’s not necessarily something new. We knew that before from the Joe Joyce fight, so say it never happened in the Usyk fight and it only happened once in the Joyce fight, I would still know it is there. I would still know it is in him to capitulate and back out. So, it is just more evidence on top of something I already saw there.

“I think there is a level of not being able to believe it that I have come from where I have come from and been able to achieve what I have been able to achieve. Every time it’s like, ‘He has to fall now; he has to go wrong now’, but I do laugh; there is always a caveat like it’s that or the Huni fight I was losing and ‘just’ pulled it out the bag or it was this. There is always a caveat of why; it is never ‘Fabio did well there and congrats’, so, yeah that will always follow me around one way or another.

“[Dubois] is someone people will look at and say ‘That is a respectable opponent’. A respectable opponent; former world champion; someone who has been in with some of the best guys.

“My plan is to be that person – I think the best way to [secure the biggest fights] is to be known for being the guy in real fights and who is entertaining and is value for money.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Brad Rea balancing risk with reward in pivotal Liam Cameron clash

Brad Rea finds himself at a pivotal moment in his career.

On Saturday night the light heavyweight contender boxes Liam Cameron at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena. A win will open up lots of exciting opportunities for the 28-year-old, who knows exactly where defeat could lead him.

Back in November 2022, Rea was on a good run of form before losing a unanimous decision to future European middleweight champion Tyler Denny. Rather than being brought back at a good level and allowed to rebuild, Rea was unfairly cast aside and spend the best parrt of three years in the wilderness.

He spent the time wisely.

He left Manchester, moved to Andy Abrol’s Sharpstyle gym in Blackpool and built his way into the 175-pound division. Finally, an opportunity presented itself and Rea snatched it by beating Shakan Pitters to become the European champion.
That win earned Rea a promotional deal with Queensberry and last November, he was matched with former world title challenger Lyndon Arthur. Despite dropping his Manchester rival, Rea lost an exciting 12-round majority decision.

Rea holds much more sway than after the Denny defeat but will never forget just how hard it was to drag himself back to relevance last time.

"We know what boxing's like. It can be a bit of a brutal sport. We've seen the effect that a loss can have on your career. If I drop two on the bounce, I'm just an opponent then for the rest of my career," he told The Ring.

"I feel like I'm in a position where I can get a bit of backing and can be built a bit. I want to be able to headline shows in Manchester and if I lose this next fight, that's out of the window for me."

Boxing on the Fabio Wardley-Daniel Dubois undercard presents Rea with the ideal stage to re-establish himself on and couldn't have chosen a better opponent. Initially, he accepted a fight offer to box the tricky, technical Zach Parker. Instead, he will meet the ever-popular fan favorite Cameron.

"I didn't want an easy touch to get back to winning ways. I wanted to get back in there at a good level. If I beat Liam it really pushes me back up there where I belong," he said.

"How can you not like Liam? He's got a great story and a lovely guy but he's in my way and for 10 rounds, I'm gonna try and knock him out. It's as simple as that."

Rea knows that it is absolutely crucial that he wakes up on Sunday morning wondering who he will fight next rather than worrying about if and when he will be given another opportunity.

Standing at around 6-feet-4, Rea boxed for England as an amateur and is effective when he decides to keep things straight and long. If he boxes smartly and sensibly, the aggressive Cameron may find it hard to close the distance.

Rea is a smart enough fighter to identify the most straightforward route to victory but also admits that, at some point, pragmatism will go out of the window and he will dig his toes into the canvas and fight.

"It’s tough. You need the best of both worlds don't you?" he laughed. "I need to be in fan-friendly fights but also getting my hand raised at the end of the day.

"I look for it in every fight. Everybody I’m in with, I try and knock them out. That’s the name of the game and what people want to see, that's what puts bums on seats. I know if I go into every fight with the mentality that it isn't going the distance, people like it. I'm a boxing fan myself and that's what people wanna watch."

[Ruthless-RKO]

‘It’ll be excitement’: allegedly promises fireworks in Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois

Frank~Warren fields questions on numerous subjects surrounding his promotional outfit.



Queensberry promoter allegedly joined Ariel Helwani’s show to discuss a number of topics including this weekend’s heavyweight fight between Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois, plans for Moses Itauma, his fractured relationship with Turki Alalshikh and more. Here’s some of what he had to say with the full video segment in the link at the top!

Warren on Wardley vs Dubois
“I love it…Two massive, massive punchers. It’ll be excitement. We call the show ‘Don’t Blink’ and there’s a reason for that…I expect from round 1 they get down on it and let their bombs go.”

On plans for Moses Itauma
“[Itauma] will probably fight [at the O2] on the 8th of August and that’s what will happen. If [Joshua’s] got this warm-up fight coming up against this guy he’s fighting — me, I’d love him to have the warm up fight against Moses. That would’ve been a great warm up fight and a good test for him.

“Another fight I’d like to see him in, and I’d do it if they’re interested, is against Usyk. [He’s ready for that]. I haven’t spoken with [Usyk] about it, he’s fighting this kickboxer, isn’t he?

On his current relationship with Turki Alalshikh after reports of them falling out
“Well, the last time I’ve seen him was at the show in Tottenham, Tyson’s show. We sat together and said hello and shook hands and we watched the fight together…That’s the last time I’ve spoken to him and it is what it is, and where am I with it? I’m doing what I always do, we’re putting on great shows and I’ll continue to do so.

“Riyadh Season was a blast for me, I enjoyed it. There were some great shows, I mean everybody cooperating to make them work, and I enjoyed it. I really did enjoy it and it was a good time but things are what they are and you’ve got to keep evolving and moving on.”

On whether he’s suing Alalshikh and Riyadh Season
“I mean, it’s well documented I’ve sent a letter to him. That’s where it is at the moment. I can’t really comment on any of that. I don’t want to because whatever happens is I’d much rather keep my counsel to myself on that.

“I felt we were very close but we were renewing our deal to be involved in doing more shows there but it just didn’t happen and that was it.”

On his thoughts on the Senate hearing on the Ali Act
“How do I feel about it? The hearing, when you’ve got one of the senators at the hearing who was cross-examining and was asking [Dana White] to bring a UFC show to his state — I mean, if a politician had done that in the UK, they’d have been thrown off the committee…[The hearing] is a formality and that’s what’s happening.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

How to follow Wardley v Dubois on the BBC

Radio commentary will begin from 19:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app.

Live text commentary will start from 20:00 on the BBC Sport website and app, with radio commentary switching to BBC Radio 5 Live from 22:00.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Thursday: News conference from 14:00 BST in Manchester

Friday: Weigh-in from 18:00 BST at the Bowles Exhibition Centre in Manchester